Sakura Prophecies
by ShadowMoonSedai
Summary: She always said, "they will come, in the guise of helpful strangers, and they will be the death of us all". Never once was she was believed...
1. Signs

_Sakura Prophecies_

"… well, shit."

Now, generally speaking, pieces of wood don't generate that kind of response from anybody. Wood, by nature (and in nature), is very unimposing, and, for the most part, just sits there, languishing in the sunlight, growing, and dying in turns, like most forms of life, at least when it _has _a life, in which case, it's a tree. When you cut a tree down, and break it apart, and separate the leaves from the branches and the branches from the bigger branches, and the bigger branches from the trunk, _then_ you have wood. The trunk becomes planks, to build walls and to support roofs, the leaves are dried for fire starter, along with the smaller branches, and the bigger branches become the fuel to keep the first going on the long dark nights. On occasion, you have enough wood left over to create something else that's useful in a different fashion – a post. It was, in fact, a post that generated the short outburst of frustration, but not because it was a post. The post was, for all sense and purposes, very good at its job, as a marker where a main path split, and so some foolhardy person didn't just press on forward and make another path where there didn't need to be one. This post in question, however, did have a certain failing. Yes, it marked where the paths split, and did a good job, at that, but it wasn't able to tell which path went where, because this post lacked a sign, which would have made it a truly great post indeed.

This lack of signage was the main problem, and that was not at all the post's fault.

"Should we just pick a path?" suggested one of the four intimating figured staring down the poor post. "They both go in the same direction."

"Only one goes to town, however," amended another, "and the map doesn't tell me which one it is. This fork isn't marked."

"I'm hungry," spoke up a voice.

"Shut up," snarked the first.

"But I'm hungry!" repeated the same voice.

"Then be a good monkey and sniff us out a town!" came the retort from the same rude voice.

"Stop calling me a monkey, you stupid!"

"Excuse me!" demanded a fifth voice, interrupting the exchange loudly enough to cause the line of figures to separate and let her through. She bustled through, a tiny form dwarfed by a large piece of wood (planks, that is), her skirts tossing up dirt as she hurried to the post. There was silence, the kind where no one was quite sure what to say, while the small body hurriedly set the missing sign on the bottom most brackets of the once lonely post and fished a hammer from the pocket of her long white smock. There was a bit of a fuss, then a tinny _tinktinktink_ of metal against metal, followed by the girl stepping back and dropping the hammer back into its pocket. Only then did she turn and bow to the four strangers.

"I was fixing the sign," she explained, her long black braid slipping from her shoulders and falling around her cheeks as she stayed bent over. "I didn't think anyone was coming out of the forest today, so I didn't know it would be a problem." One of the men, for these were men, more or less, gave a wane smile.

"It's all right, miss," he said, giving a short bow of return in her direction. "We're just on our way to the town." She straightened and raised one hand to indicate the left path.

"Town is just that way," she said, "about a half a day. You should make it before nightfall. You should hurry, though," she suggested, giving a small smile. "We've had problem lately with demons and monsters going after travelers."

"Ah," agreed the only man to have spoken to her so far. "Thank you for the advice. Are you traveling to town as well?" She shook her head empathically and her smile broadened to an almost dazzling display.

"My home is that way," she answered, lowering one hand and raising another to indicate the right path. "About the same distance. Um…" Suddenly, her brown eyes dropped to the ground, and she ducked her head, a small splash of red igniting on her pale cheeks. "If you'll excuse me for being so bold, I would like to ask a favor of you… gentlemen." She clasped her hands together in front of her and lifted her head, but not her eyes. "We've been having trouble, that is to say, my sisters and I have been having trouble lately. I'd like to offer an exchange, for your help."

"Sisters?" came one inquiry, which was met with a slightly surprised confusion from the girl and silent disdain from his companions. The original speaker chose to save the situation.

"What trouble?" he asked, taking a step forward. Now she looked at him, and there was plea in her eyes that no one could ignore.

"Our roof has been caving in, but no one from the village will come and help us," she explained, "and it's not something we can easily take care of ourselves. If you would help us, we have plenty of rooms where you can stay, and we have plenty of food, as well." She fidgeted, shifting her wait and kicking up most dust with her skirt. "We can also pay you-" The talking man, as she had silently dubbed him, raised his hand and gave her a smile that spoke of nothing.

"You have said enough, miss. Let me talk with my companions for a moment." She a took step back in surprise as the four men suddenly huddled in a group – well, three of them huddled, and another stood there, not saying a word, and quite obviously more interested in the sign behind her than the girl herself. A few choice words drifted from the men who were actually talking.

"…Hakkai, I'm _hungry_…"

"… she said she has sisters…"

"… free room and board…"

And still the fourth man said nothing, except for the occasional nod. The girl said nothing as well, but her face clearly spoke of several second thoughts she was currently harboring about these men and their… intentions.

"Hey, girl." The man who was preoccupied with the idea of her sisters, asked a question that was of no shock to anyone. "How _many_ sisters?" She was tempted, oh so tempted, to roll her eyes and just walk away, but there were more important issues.

"Three," she answered, holding up three fingers and smiling. They returned to their huddle.

As they were doing this, something shifted clear of the branches of the forest and, without due warning, jumped the girl as she stood there, keeping only the barest hold on her composure. She screamed as she vanished between a flurry of black and white and all four men separated their huddle in a flash to attempt a rescue – but her screams turned into cursing mixed with forced laughter, putting the rescue at a very confused standstill. After a moment, and one heartfelt shove, the two forms separated and another girl clambered to her feet to stand before them.

"Hey, Midori, what is this?" she inquired, taking in the four men with her dark brown eyes. If the sign painter, Midori, was one thing at all, she was quite obviously this girl's sister. Taller, though, was the new one, and dressed in darker clothing, she stood a good foot above red faced woman, who, once on her feet, shoved her aside and all but growled as the new, black haired girl, fell on her backside on the leaf ridden ground.

"You have no tact," Midori accused, waggling a finger in the air above her. "Get yourself home and be useful there." An eyebrow arched, and the black girl rolled her eyes.

"And leave you defenseless with these men of _obvious_ ill intention?" she shot back. "I don't think so."

"Do we have ill intentions?" one of the travelers asked, looking up at one of his companions. The other man shrugged.

"You might not," he replied with a smirk, leaving a silent "but I might" hanging in the air around him.

"Ignore my sister," stated Midori, placing her hands on her hips. "She's just a child. Did you reach a decision?"

"Well, not entirely-" started one of them, to be interrupted by the one with the obvious intentions.

"You don't have to pay us any money, but we'll take the other ones," he said, not quite making clear what he thought the other "ones" might be. The new girl raised an eyebrow this time, and was rewarded with what the man thought to be his "charming" smile. She wasn't phased, or at least not that she showed, and rolled her eyes.

"Can we get a move on, then?" she asked, pushing herself to her feet and brushing dirt from her pants. "I'd like to get back so Soyo can finish killing me for the… mess I made this morning, before breakfast."

"That'll teach you to go off on your own in the dark mornings!" scolded Midori, grabbing her sister's short ponytail and tugging it, and her sister, in the direction of the left path. "If you'll follow us, gentlemen? Kuroi, stop stalling!" Kuroi yelped, but let herself be dragged off, with only a hand on Midori's wrist to keep her from pulling _too_ hard. As the four men fell into line behind them, one of them said, quietly,

"She smells like blood."

"They both do," said another. "She just smells the stronger of the two."


	2. I forgot to mention

"Just how far is this place, anyway?"

The daylight was quickly fading, but there was very little forest to the west of them. A river, it seemed, ran close to this path, and the trees had been thinned to allow for a better vantage point of it. They could hear it rushing, but the sound came and went. As Midori turned to address the question, a breeze blew up the side of the cliff and slipped through the edges of her hair.

"It's not much further. We're actually almost there," she answered, grinning. Kuroi scoffed in her throat and walked just a little bit faster. Ever since Midori had released her from her grip, the black haired girl had been silent and distant, fingers linked loosely behind her head, her eyes trained on the path ahead.

"I hope you boys aren't afraid of the dark," she commented, and it was the first thing she had said in almost a half an hour. The conversation had transpired mostly between Midori and the taller of the men, named Hakkai. Goku, the smallest, had interjected a sentence or two, and Gojyo had thrown in a leer statement once or twice. Gojyo, it had been decided, was officially designated to the worst part of the roof as his job, for a comment he had made that had caused Midori to turn seven or eight shades a brighter red. She hadn't spoken for quite a few minutes after that, and her answer to Gojyo's question about distance was stated with a still-thin blush across her cheeks.

"Dark?" asked Goku. Midori rolled her eyes, but Kuroi continued.

"Our house is actually on the shore of the river, down there." She dropped one of her arms to indicate the cliff face running along side of them as she walked. "A few years ago, our Papa carved some steps into a hole a demon made."

"A demon?" asked Hakkai. Midori nodded slowly, narrowing her eyes at Kuroi's uncaring back.

"This place had a few rogue demons when we were younger, even before the shadow wave went through," she explained, folding her hands behind her back. "One of them took the form of a giant snake, and liked to dig tunnels. After he ate a few miners, the townspeople sent… someone… after him. There's still quite a few of his tunnels around – they find them all the time."

"So the village is a mining village?" inquired Hakkai. Kuroi snorted.

"For all the good that does them. Most of them are too cowardly to set foot inside anymore," she said, shaking her head.

"Seven men were killed in there, Kuroi," argued Midori. "They have every right-"

"Every right to _what_. Mimi?" asked Kuroi, looking back over her shoulder. There was a way the light caught her eyes, causing an unpleasant glint, and Gojyo wasn't the only one to lift an eyebrow. Midori's jaw hung for a second, working around a retort that never formed, and she fell silent as Kuroi's steps slowed.

"Here," said the black haired girl, indicating a grove of thick trees that stood only a few feet from the very edge of the cliff. She stepped forward and pressed her hand against the trunk of the one closest to the path, then whispered a word that lit across the four men like a fire. It wasn't a commonly spoken word, and when the last syllable hissed out of life, a symbol lit on the bark beneath her fingers. The leaves of the trees rustled as the single one lifted itself out of the ground and shifted one spider like roots a few feet to the left of the grove. Kuroi jumped back, almost knocking over Midori in the process, and without warning, she pulled a katana-like sword from her back. There was a flash of a sheath that pressed against her skin, but that was all they saw.

"Someone's been through here today," she hissed, straightening. "I'll go in first, then. Mimi?" Midori nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, her face tight with worry.

"You two are…?" Both of them looked at the four men, who were on guard now more than ever. Kuroi then looked away to exchange a glance with her sister, who nodded only once before the black haired girl stepped forward and into the shadowy hole that had been created. She vanished from view, sword still at her side.

"I should have warned you before we brought you out here," Midori said, dropping her arms. Thin metal daggers that had come from her sleeves trembled in her hands as they hung at her sides. "I said there are four of us, and what I meant was… there are only two of us who are completely human. Midori is a quarter demon, from her mother who was a Taboo Child, and our sister, Pehji, is a full blood. She resisted the shadow wave, even when it took our parents and three of our siblings, and hasn't left the house since." She shook her head slowly, then straightened and set her shoulders.

"If you want to leave, I understand," she said, not looking any of them directly in the eyes. "You wouldn't be the first set of adventurers that made excuses and high tailed it back to the main path."

"Geez, Midori-san," commented Gojyo blandly. "You make it sound like you're _dangerous._" She lifted her eyes to his and just stared, stared at him, at his smirk that somehow didn't seem like a smirk at all. It was almost too… soft.

"Dangerous?" she repeated, letting her gaze fall to the daggers she clutched like her last lifeline. "Us? We… we're-"

"It's all clear." Kuroi stepped from within the grove of trees, sword still bare at her side. Dust formed a heavy grey coat on her hair and shoulders, and there was a streak of something dark along the bottom of her chin. She looked at no one, her eyes as solid a color as her hair.

"You're still here?" she asked. "That's a surprise. You've got bigger balls than the rest of them, then." She reached up with her free hand and brushed some of the dust off of her arm as Gojyo gave a little chuckle.

"Oh, trust me-" he started, only to be interrupted as she turned around and started back into the grove.

"Let's go, then," she said, stepping into the darkness once more. Midori started from her own silence and shook herself of some heavy self-induced spectre before motioning to the four, slightly amused men.

"I have to stay and close up the entrance. Kuroi will take care of anything that springs up in front, and I'll handle anything that sneaks up from behind. You'll be safe, I promise." Gojyo scoffed at the implication that they needed protecting, but it was the tall, priestly Sanzo who was actually the first to step forward and into the grove. There was a momentary silence, then a loud curse, that being the first word he had said all day. Midori gasped, and they heard Kuroi laughing from somewhere below.

"I'm sorry!" Midori exclaimed, rushing forward and leaning over. "I forgot to warn you about the drop! Are you all right?" There was no answer, a sure indication that he was, indeed, fine, but Midori didn't know this. It took Kuroi yelling an answer to get the shorter girl to step back from the hole and relinquish her worried look from her face.

"There's a drop," she said again, looking at the three remaining men. "Please, be careful."

"Eh, I think we'll be okay," said Gojyo, taking his position as second to enter whatever path they were being set upon. No way was he going to let that priest show him up, not this time, in front of such a pretty girl. Maybe Sanzo didn't care, but he did. Goku went next, making a usual comment about how he was really hungry, and Midori promised him they would eat first, and work in the morning, if that was okay? Hakkai gave her a nod as his answer, as he and his tiny winged dragon companion were the last of the men to go in. Midori followed behind, stopping only to whisper a word in a language that no one really would have understood, had they heard it, and beckon to the errant tree that sat on the side of the path. It pulled itself out of the ground again, and crawled back to its position, sinking in the ground as she vanished into the hole.

Nearby, from the branches of a tree that had never once been touched by spell, a figure crouched, intrigued.


	3. Well yeah

They emerged into sunlight a little over a half an hour later and Kuroi was already sheathing her sword as Midori emerged, blinking. Directly in front of them stood a large house, two stories tall and built of a several additions that stood out as different colors against the aged wood of the main building. A large deck spread out from the front door and wrapped around the corners, disappearing under the edges of the hanging blue tarps. There was very little doubt that the roof was in the need of repair, as a huge pile of shingles lined the wall of the cliff next to the wall. It was the tarps themselves that made up the roof, although one or two had blown up from its anchor and was folded over to reveal a hole like a gaping wound.

"You weren't kidding about needing help," muttered Gojyo, taking in the sight of the roof.

"I smell food!" exclaimed Goku, his face brightening. Midori grinned as the screen door to the house popped open and something hurtled at an amazing speed directly into Kuroi's face.

"Get your psychopathic, blood trail leaving ass down to the river and wash up!" snapped an irate voice just as soon as the soap connected with the girl's forehead. "_Now_!" A woman smaller than even Midori stormed out of the front door and paid no attention to the four men standing in her backyard. "If I've told you a thousand times-!"

"I know, I know, all right!" Kuroi snapped, bending down to the scoop up the soap. "For the love the gods, you'd think I'd get a little respect around here, for all that I do for you-"

"Do for me!" yelped the woman, who orange-red hair was almost on end with annoyance. "I'm the one that cleans up your messes! The only thing you do for me is make my back hurt!" Kuroi stalked into the house, shoulders hunched forward, soap clutched so tightly in her fist she was leaving a trail of crumbs. "And make it quick! Dinner's almost ready!"

"Soyo?" The timid inquiry was Midori, who was all but hiding behind the nearest of the male travelers – fortunately for her, it was Hakkai, who was the least likely to take advantage of the situation. By least likely, it is meant that he "wasn't Gojyo", and therefore, not going to try at all.

"I'm sorry for my outburst," said the new woman. "That girl just frustrates me, s'all… anyway, I'm Soyo Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet you." She gave a bow, one loop of a three looped braid falling down over her shoulder. "Thank you so much for agreeing to help. We really do need it."

"I'll be back after awhile!" Kuroi was trotting down the steps, clad only in a towel obviously made to wrap a much shorted person, loose sandals, and her sword over her shoulders. She paused for a second to twist her hair up with a thin black chopstick and almost lost her towel in the process. Soyo rolled her eyes and was on the verge of speaking when Gojyo beat her to it.

"Maybe I should walk with you," he volunteered. "You said there have been a lot of demons in the area lately and…" Kuroi was giving him the strangest look anyone had ever given him in response to his attempts to see a little action. After a moment, she shrugged and waved her hand dismissively.

"Works for me. Come on," she said, hefting a basket of soap and wash cloth under her arm. "You're holding up the process and Soyo can be a real bitch when you keep her waiting."

"I'll show you bitch, you little-" Soyo started to turn as Gojyo began to saunter after the girl. There was no other word for it, Hakkai felt. It was a saunter.

"I have a dent in the middle of my forehead that says you already have, _anechan_," commented Kuroi in a singsong voice. Soyo's jaw worked and she shoulders tightened, but Midori laid a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," soothed the brown haired girl. "She doesn't mean it."

"Little smart mouthed brat," muttered Soyo, but there was the beginning of a smile on her lips. Midori gave a tiny, exasperated sigh.

"Let's go have some tea," she said, more to herself than anyone else. "If you'd like, I can tell you the story of this place. It's too dark to do any work on the roof, in any case. I'm sorry if we're delaying your trip."

"It's all right," Hakkai assured her. "I think this will be an interesting diversion, don't you, Sanzo?" The priest didn't answer, but instead asked a question of his own.

"Is there some place I can smoke?" Soyo raised an eyebrow, then motioned to the side of the house.

"In the garden, in the back, if you promise not to light anything on fire."

"Hn," was her answer, and Sanzo, as well, sauntered off, but with less of a perverse overtone. Midori directed the remaining two guests to the house, promising to Goku that dinner would be ready soon as she did.

Inside, the house was in much better shape. It was obvious that an effort has been made to keep the furnishings clean and mended, and the room smelled of fresh paint. Midori invited them to sit on a large blue couch as she settled into a chair, and Soyo went into the kitchen just off the sitting room to get the tea. Whatever she was cooking did smell wonderful, and Goku squirmed in his seat, craning his neck for a peek.

"You know," Midori's tone was light and teasing, "I'm sure Soyo could use an extra set of hands, what with Pehji working in her garden and Kuroi… taking a bath. Would you be so kind as to-" It wasn't necessary for her to finish the thought, as Goku took his cue early and bounded into the kitchen, offering his services in a loud, hopeful voice. Midori giggled as they heard Soyo's slightly shocked, if amused, acceptance.

"He's very enthusiastic," she commented, folding her hands in her lap. Hakkai's chuckle was only mildly dry.

"He is," he agreed. Soyo rushed in with a tray of tea, muttered something about not leaving her new "assistant" unsupervised, and then bustled out again.

"My sisters," began Midori, leaning forward to pour the tea from the pale green pot into the white cups, "are not blood related, as you may have guessed. At only one point in time were any children in this house blood related, and that was when Soyo, her brother, and older sister were all living under this roof." She passed a cup to Hakkai and gave a wry smile, "What's left of it, at least." He returned the smile and sipped the tea carefully as Midori lifted the pot to pour a cup for herself. Her fingers were only delicately wrapped around the handle, as if she was prepared to drop it at a moment's notice. These were the not the same hands that had clutched a pair of daggers so tightly just earlier that day.

"Soyo's brother was always a bit of a vagrant. He travels, and sends home things on occasion, money sometimes, presents others. Her sister is married and lives in the village." She straightened and the kept the tea poised in her lap, ready to drink. Her eyes were trained on the steam that danced above the edge of the cup.

"Kuroi is our youngest," she continued. "Soyo is our oldest. That is speaking strictly age wise. Our parents were full blooded demons. When the shadow wave passed through…" Her hands began to tremble, and she steeled her shoulders to calm herself. "As you can see," she started again, her voice forced into a level tone, "there are only the four of us left. Before the wave, eleven people lived here. Us girls, our parents, my husband, and two other full blooded demons. Pehji is the only one that held on to her sanity." Hakkai was intrigued by her choice of words – "sanity", not "humanity". He wasn't going to call her on the difference, but there was something else that nagged at him from her words.

"Your husband was…?" he inquired gently, not wanting to push too far, or to seem too nosy. She had been the one, after all, to start this conversation. He was only in the position to ask questions. An orphanage of demons and humans – such a thing was an uncommon, but, to Hakkai, not at all a bad thing. At least, in theory.

"My husband was a goodly creature." Her words were clipped, and her hands began to tremble again. "He… let himself lose control. He wanted to protect me, but then all he could do was leave me. It was… a hard time. For all of us." Another shake of her shoulders, and she was calm again.

"Forgive me for boring you with this," she went on, sipping her tea. "It's been a long while since we've had visitors at this house. My manners abandon me, it appears." Hakkai shook his head and set his tea down to reach up a free hand to pet the dragon curled upon his shoulder.

"The shadow wave, as you call it, caused a lot of problem for a lot of people," he agreed. "Hopefully, someone is trying to right things." He sipped his tea again while she raised an eyebrow.

"… right," she agreed, not entirely sure what to make of that statement. "What of you and your companions? You seem to be an… interesting collective. Are you brothers?"

"Probably not in so many words," chuckled Hakkai, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling. "We're just travelers, trying to find fame and fortune, and all of that." He continued to chuckle, almost nervously, which only made her raise her eyebrow even higher.

"I see," she stated. "That is… interesting." There was a lag in conversation, broken by what appeared to be singing coming from the kitchen. Hakkai looked up and over, but there was a solid partition between him and the action. Then came the question he had been expecting all along.

"You friend, the red haired one – what are his intentions with my sister?" Midori's face was lowered into her tea cup, but her eyes were locked solidly onto the dark haired man, who, while he had been expecting the question, was now quite suddenly not sure what to answer with.

"Probably not good," he answered, feeling a need to be only slightly less than honest. There was no doubt that Gojyo's intentions were "not good", but to come right out and say was a very crude way to handle a delicate situation.

Midori nodded her head and her lip twitched into a smirk.

"So long as he doesn't hurt her, she won't have to kill him," she answered as Hakkai buried himself in drinking his tea. For a moment, the statement surprised him and the word "ambush" began to call strongly in his mind. Then, Midori continued with, "which is funny, because I've heard tell my sister likes it rough."

Hakkai had never choked harder on tea in his life.0


	4. Most Definitly Yes

"So I guess Mimi told you about my so called "tainted blood"."

This was the first clue to Gojyo that he may have been a bit hasty in choosing to chase this particular tail. No, scratch that, he _knew_ he had been. He had known it even as he had been spewing stupid about protecting her, etc. At the same time, however, this girl that walked beside him was something of a curiosity – a quarter demon, a fighter, and, apparently, attention deprived. By bringing up _that_ subject (the subject of her heritage), she was all but screaming, "Look at meeee!"

"She mentioned it," he said dryly, very willing to avoid the entire conversation. Whenever someone brought up bloodlines, they would talk about their own for a bit, than move on to his in the very next breath. He really, really didn't want to talk about that, especially not when he was still attempting to figure out what, exactly, they had all gotten themselves into. Stuck for the night between a very convenient rock (cliff) and hard place (river), with four girls that they didn't know, one of whom he still had yet to meet. The fact that they had openly admitted to not only being of mixed blood company, but with a full demon _and_ not related by blood, only gave him more to be suspicious about. A secret, smarter part of him (kept a secret because he didn't really utilize it all that often) had urged him, in addition to other, usually more often head parts of his brain, to follow the sister that was leaving. She had, after all, proven to be the most dangerous.

"Good," said the lone wolf sister, tucking one arm against the small of her back. "If it's all the same to you, I really don't give a damn what you think, so keep your opinions to yourself." He stopped for a second, and she moved on, leaving him a slightly shocked, silent form of a man who had just lost hold of a very dear, however unfortunate, cliché of victimization.

"Now, hold on a second," he demanded, catching up to her. "What makes you think I had an opinion!" Only _after_ the statement left his mouth did he realize how stupid it sounded, but all she did was chuckle and push a strand of errant black hair away from her face.

"Everyone has an opinion," she said. "Quarter bloods are a helluva lot less common than even people such as your, the common theory being that quarter bloods are all the result of females half bloods working as whores."

"Ah…" Where to take _that_ statement? "… is it true?" She shrugged.

"I've never met another quarter blood," she answered. "I wouldn't know. My parents were married, though, I can promise you that." She stopped walking, and set the basket down on a outcropping of rocks, than leaned her sword next to it.

"Let's not talk about that," she said, reaching up for the corner of her towel. Her hand stopped just as her finger touched the fabric. "Would you please… look away?" she asked, and, to her surprise, he did, turning his back to her with a small grin on his face. He heard the whisper of the towel hitting the sand, but waited until he heard the water splashing against her skin to even venture a look. Usually, he would have looked sooner, but, to be truthful, something in the way she had asked her question told him that even warrior girls had something to hide. He could respect that, at least for the moment.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that heritage and talk of breeding isn't your favorite subject," came her voice, and he realized her couldn't see her. Then, her head popped out from behind a pile of rocks that jutted out into the water and she pulled herself up far enough to rest her chin on her arms. Her hair was wet and hung heavily around her face, framing very quizzical eyes.

"Not really," he answered, leaning his back against a tree. Now that he knew where she was, he was both safe _and_ accomplishing the task he had assigned to himself with his own big mouth, the task of protecting her. She grinned.

"My mom used to throw things at people who even attempted to broach the subject," she said. "The best was when she nailed the shortest man in the village with a teacup on the back of a head through a crowded street." He gave a low whistle.

"That's pretty impressive," he said, shaking his head. "I wish my mom had been like that." It just kind of slipped out, and the aftertaste it left in his mouth wasn't pleasant, but the way she tilted her head and gave a small smile was almost enough to make up for the mistake.

"Not all mothers are same," she said, lowering her eyes. "It happens. You can't be ashamed of them, because they're still humans and demons, sometimes at the same time. Imperfect, but infallible in the memories they leave us." She looked up and directed that sad smile at him. It wasn't sympathy, it was…

She slid of the rock and disappeared under the water, only to surface again quite a few feet out from shore. This particular section of the river was more a reservoir than anything, the result of a short waterfall that level off and a perfect angle before drop offing again some distance away. It was deep enough that the water close to the surface was calm, if dark, and in the fading sunlight, Kuroi's hair seemed to almost grow from the river itself. Her face was lost in shadow, but he saw the flash of her teeth as she smiled at him.

"Are you going to stay there forever, Gojyo-san?" she called. "The water's perfect!"

"Hehehe…" How to refuse her nicely? How to refuse her _at all_? She was entirely naked underneath all the water, but then again, the water was the problem. Swimming was, again, not a strong point – but just as he opened his mouth to give her the best rejection he could (while mentally kicking himself all the while), he realized that he had lost sight of her. The surface of the water was almost glassy again, save for a few ripples from the breeze.

"Of course," came her voice again, this time much closer and to the left of where he was looking, "the closer you are to the beach, the warmer the water is." She was standing in water that rose to just above her waist, the same shadows that had hidden her face hiding all but the silhouette of her form. The edges of her body were lit with orange red and her hair dripped fire down her shoulders, where the water slid down her skin to once again join with the water that it had come from.

"Is this a better place. Gojyo-san?" His name rolled off her tongue and it was in the tone of something that whispered stronger ideas into his mind.

Could he handle four feet of slow moving water? Especially for something that… well, _that?_

He believed the answer was a firm _yes_.

It was a deal of time later, in the full arms of darkness, that they lay side by side on the sand, barefoot but dressed in the minimum, with the waves of the tide brushing the soles of their feet. They weren't touching, except where their arms had falling next to each other, and yet, that was okay. Gojyo was, at heart, not much of a cuddling person, and not that he could speak for her, but Kuroi seemed perfectly happy stretched out as she was, wrapped once again in her towel.

"Supposed we missed dinner?" he asked, and she started laughing.

"I hope your friend Goku was able to eat," she said, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest. Her hair had… fallen… out of its chopstick hold, and no amount of searching was going to rescue it from its new home several feet below the water, so now it tumbled down her back, a tight mess of curls and waves that mimicked the harsher parts of the river.

"Wasn't your hair straight earlier?" he asked, sitting up. He could feel the sand where it was dug into the skin of his back, but he had pants on, and he felt that was all that was necessary for the moment. She looked over at him and rolled her eyes.

"It does this when it gets wet," she explained, pulling a chunk forward and yanking it straight between her fingers. "Mimi will have to straighten it in the morning – otherwise, it dries out and I look like a hyperactive bush." It was his turn to laugh, because the mental image was, indeed, funny, but she laughed along with him. A sneeze soon interrupted her, and she snapped something angrily in the same tongue that he had heard her use earlier.

"What _is_ that?" he asked, gaining a very confused look from her.

"What?" She tilted her head to side, then wrinkled her nose. "Oh, _that_," she said. "It's one of the words I used to hear my grandfather use all of the time, from the language of his homeland."

"His homeland?" She nodded.

"He was from the west," she explained, "but further West than most people have ever thought of being. "A lifetime away" was what he always told me. He taught me some of his language before he passed away – the keyword to the tunnel if from one of the words I remember." It was his turn to nod, because that made a lot more sense than his original theory.

"That's what I thought," he said, raking his fingers through his hair. He gave a sigh when he saw the amount of sand that came away on his fingers. "Man, this is going to take forever to wash out." She chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Just ask Midori to get it out. She has some amazing skills with hai-" He heard it before he saw it, but oddly enough, he grabbed Kuroi at the same time she tightened her grip on his shoulder and they pushed each other down at the exact same time. Something whistled over their heads and kicked up a cloud of sand as it hit the ground, before it buried itself in the exact tree that Gojyo had been leaning against before and exploded, sending a shower of wood chips raining down on them and his shakujo skittering across the sand. Kuroi was up before him, jumping over him to reach her sword. She was stopped.

"Lovely evening wear, Kuroi, my dear," chided a voice as Gojyo pulled himself to his feet. In whatever amount of time it had taken for the first attack to detonate, they had become surrounded by a full force of shadowy figures marked with claws and smiles that glinted of even sharper edges. The one nearest to Kuroi let itself be revealed in the moonlight, and the noise she made was not a happy one.

"And here I thought you'd be smart enough to stay dead once someone put a sword through your face," she snapped as she took a precautionary step backward. Gojyo took a step closer to her, but turned his view onto the other half of the entourage, pressing his back against hers as he did.

"That was quite an _interesting_ show you put on," said the monster again, his pale smile lit up in the moonlight. His skin was almost the color of the light itself, but his hair was as black as hers, and his eyes just as dark. The sound she made this time was almost a squawk.

"You _pervert_!" she yelped, wrapping her arms around herself. "How _dare_ you-!" The demon stepped forward and ran his fingernails across her cheek, making her wince as he did so.

"I was so glad to see that you still bear the marks I gave you," he said quietly, but Gojyo heard him, and the sound that Kuroi made. This time, it was something choked in the back of her throat.

"You… you… stupid_… _goat sucking_… _pig faced…_ pervert!_" Gojyo felt the warmth of Kuroi's skin leave his, and heard the thud as she tackled the demon and slammed him into the ground. Even as she was pushing herself off of him and lunging for her sword, Gojyo was taking the chance at the shocked faces of the other demons to make a mad dash to his weapon. He could take them as he was, sure, but things were _so_ much easier if he didn't actually have to touch them.

"Got it!" He wrapped his fingers around the hilt and caught himself on the sand before he slid too far. Kuroi was already on her feet, sword in hand, scabbard cast to the side. She was also… wearing his shirt!

"Hey!" he cried. "I'll be wanting that back!"

"Yeah, well, _you_ try fighting in a towel!" she yelled back, widening the stance of her feet. Gojyo may have had a few inches of height on her, but even his shirt was almost too short to cover up all of the essential parts. "Well! Bring it on, you empty headed forest monkeys!" Several of the demons shifted to attack, but their leader, the one that Kuroi so obviously hated, was back on his feet, his hands raised.

"No, that's all right," he assured his followers. "Let them be. We've done our part here – now we can go join the_ real_ fun." He grinned at Kuroi and blew her a kiss as he, and his minions, disappeared into the shadows, leaving two very confused, half naked, and well armed people standing on the shore of a quietly turning river.

"Real… fun?" wondered Gojyo. "What in _the_ hell was he-urk!" She had his collar in a firm grip, and was hauling him a break neck speed back in the direction the originally came.

"He's attacking the house!" she said. "They're going after Pehji!"

"The house?" He pulled himself free and stopped to brush the dust off of his pants in a very nonchalant manner. She stopped, as well, and turned on him.

"What _are_ you doing!" she screamed at him. He only looked over at her.

"If it's the house, where _your_ sisters, as well as the other guys, are there shouldn't be a problem," he said, then grinned. "It'll be all right. No need to hurry." A very sharp, angry metal tip of a sword pressed itself into his throat and the eyes that stared up him weren't the same inviting eyes that had stared at him less than few hours before.

"If you think," she started, her voice as hard as the ground she stood on, "that Tartals and his band are the only people after my sister, than you're sadly mistaken." This was the same Kuroi, then, that had emerged from the tunnel at the beginning the afternoon, the one with eyes like coal straight from the mountain, and skill with a weapon, to boot. She was-

"You're a very _smart_ girl," said a voice, reverberating from the trees around them. It was a voice that caused a chill to go up Gojyo's spine. "And I commend you for that. You might want to hurry, though – the show's about to begin." The laughter that burst forth, than faded away just as quickly, was high pitched and irritating and left a grating sensation across Gojyo's nerves. Kuroi's sword lowered only a moment before she turned and took off in a full keep run towards the path. Gojyo was right behind her.


End file.
